It was a goal that displayed brilliant technical ability, one which has become the trademark finish of the striker who scored it and that had West Ham United still ruing their failed move for Ollie Watkins in January 2020.
That was when West Ham, then managed by David Moyes, first expressed an interest in signing Watkins from fellow London side Brentford, who were then in the second-tier Championship. Four and a half years later, and the now Aston Villa striker’s 90th-minute winner against the Netherlands on Wednesday, which saw England advance to the final of the European Championship, was a reminder of what West Ham could have had.
They wanted to augment their striking options as then club-record signing Sebastien Haller (signed for £45million from Eintracht Frankfurt the previous July) had struggled to adapt to English football, but Brentford were reluctant to sell.
West Ham signed wide man Jarrod Bowen from another Championship side, Hull City, instead during that winter window and while the 27-year-old has become one of their leading lights and is also in the England squad in Germany this summer, he is not a recognised centre-forward. In truth, up front remains an area of the field West Ham are still trying to get right.
Moyes’ successor this summer, new head coach Julen Lopetegui, will hope he has better success with his hunt for a striker than the Scot did.
Although he has his sights set on a Villa forward, the man he’s after is not a prolific, reliable goalscorer in the same fashion as team-mate Watkins.
Ollie Watkins scores in West Ham’s 4-1 loss to Aston Villa in October (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
That man is Jhon Duran, a largely unproven 20-year-old who has scored eight goals in 49 appearances since joining Villa from MLS side Chicago Fire in January last year. Lopetegui and Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, have identified Duran as their main offensive transfer target this summer. West Ham’s interest in the Colombia international dates back to January, when Villa rejected a loan offer. That bid included an option to buy but Villa weren’t prepared to do business.
Colombia have qualified for the Copa America final against holders Argentina on Sunday (early Monday UK time) but Duran has played for only 13 minutes at the tournament and been an unused substitute in four of their five matches. Having previously linked with Chelsea and Italy’s AC Milan, Villa manager Unai Emery is open to Duran leaving and the player wants more first-team opportunities but, last season, there were concerns over his physical condition after he returned to England after international duty.
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West Ham can ill-afford to get this wrong, with the signing of Gianluca Scamacca in summer 2022 a case in point.
The Italy international joined from Sassuolo in his homeland for £30.5million. There was excitement over his arrival, with Scamacca having been the second-highest Italian scorer in Serie A the previous season with 16 goals from 36 appearances.
But within months, coaches at West Ham became concerned about his physical condition — Scamacca completed the 90 minutes in just three of his first 20 appearances. In the May of that season, fellow West Ham striker Michail Antonio infamously said that Scamacca did not suit Moyes’ style of play when appearing on the Filthy Fellas podcast. The Italian was sold back to Serie A, joining Atalanta, just over two months later.
Lopetegui plans on playing a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system. West Ham’s summer targets also include Youssef En-Nesyri, of Spain’s Sevilla, French club Lens’ Elye Wahi and Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson. They have not made any approaches for Brentford’s England international Ivan Toney. Jota Silva joining from Portugal’s Vitoria Guimaraes seems unlikely with West Ham having signed fellow winger Luis Guilherme of Palmeiras in Brazil.
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“We’re trying to build up the squad,” said Steidten, speaking at Lopetegui’s introductory press conference this month. “We’re not limiting ourselves to one position (forward) — we’re looking at all areas.
“England is our home ground, so we have to be in that market if possible. We are looking elsewhere, too. That’s part of our job: to find the right players for West Ham. It will be a busy summer for me and Julen. We don’t have to sell in order to buy players this summer.”
West Ham are currently in Austria for pre-season training, and Danny Ings is their only recognised striker at the moment. Young forward Divin Mubama was released, having rejected multiple contract offers. The other noticeable attacking departure this summer was Said Benrahma to French side Lyon.
The club are yet to receive any approaches for Ings. Lopetegui was interested in signing the striker from Aston Villa when he was manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the 31-year-old former England international has scored just four goals in 52 appearances since joining from Villa in January last year.
“It’s been frustrating for me, but it has been frustrating for the fans as well, because I’ve not played much, and (have) not been able to score goals,” Ings told West Ham’s website earlier this week. “But I know I am still capable of that, so hopefully I will get more opportunities to try to showcase myself and show the fans I really do care, and really do want to be successful here.”
Technical director Tim Steidten will lead West Ham’s summer transfer strategy (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Antonio will return to training at a later date, having been in Jamaica’s squad at Copa America. The 34-year-old faces an uncertain future, with West Ham rejecting an offer from Brazilian side Gremio last month. He has also attracted interest from clubs in MLS and the Saudi Pro League.
West Ham’s No 1 goalscorer in Premier League play, Antonio got seven goals across 30 appearances last season. He will soon enter the final year of his deal, which does not include a one-year option to extend it.
For a number of seasons, there has been a heavy reliance on Antonio as West Ham’s lone striker. His unique playing style has made it hard for the club to recruit a similar replacement. In the past three years, there have been failed moves for Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy, Armando Broja of Chelsea, Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke, Corinthians’ Yuri Alberto, Terem Moffi of Nice, Darwin Nunez (then of Benfica, now at Liverpool), Julien Alvarez (then of River Plate, now with Manchester City) and also Luis Diaz before he moved from Porto to Anfield.
Steidten has backed Lopetegui with the signings of Wes Foderingham, Guilherme and £40million Wolves defender Max Kilman. The task of landing a proven striker will be his most important challenge yet.
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(Top photo: Ings is the only recognised striker at West Ham’s Austrian training camp; Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
